Andante Cantabile (The Noise of Battle)
by Their Inner Thoughts
Summary: The musings of a colonel leading up to and during the battle that very well may be his last. What things enter his mind during his last hours? Can he be forgiven of the many sins he has committed and be brought back again to his dove? Rated T for war.


I own only the poem, not the characters therein.

"Goodbye, my dear,"

I say to her.

Only for her to hear

I do not speak but whisper.

Turning away I walk

About a pace or so.

Then I hear her sweet voice,

Saying, "Please don't go."

She runs to me with arms outstretched,

I hold her close with unusual pain.

"Do not worry," I say,

"We shall see each other again."

Kissing her head, I let her go,

The hardest thing I've ever done.

Turning I face the road,

A glimmer of hope, I see none.

My walk is easy

My spirits like a feather is light.

For burned in my mind is she

Her smile like the sun is bright.

I remember the numerous walks

We enjoyed together.

The sound of her tinkling laugh

When I'd come up behind her.

Suddenly my thoughts turn dark,

Thinking the worst thoughts.

If she were gone forever,

Our love nothing more than a grey blot.

The war begins

Many of the enemy die.

Our army stands at the ready

Shooting hundreds of men before our eyes.

As I sit on my horse

Waiting for the opportune moment,

My thoughts fall to she

Whose smile my mind is bent.

I hold onto what I have

Left of the woman I love.

A gem necklace of silver,

In the form of a dove.

Looking at the enemy

I think of the outcome of today.

And something inside of me

Tells me to pray.

Nothing worth repeating,

Nothing extravagant or great,

I simply ask while waiting

To be delivered to her grace.

My spirits lift as the order's given.

My heart resounds with joy.

I charge ahead without hesitation,

I almost laugh like a little boy.

This war does not matter,

Whether we win or lose.

As long as me and my love are together,

My sword again shall I never use.

Canons erupt from behind me,

Killing people left and right.

I hear them not nor see them dying,

My thoughts lie on something bright.

Suddenly my horse is stabbed,

I fall off his back.

To the ground my body crumples.

My noble horse do I now lack.

Then a thought of her dancing,

In a meadow of wild flowers,

Makes me forget my place,

As I reach for some odd power.

For a second do I feel

Her tender skin on mine.

Before pain takes my side,

And to the earth fall I blind.

Death surrounds me everywhere I look.

My men dying all around me.

I turn my head ever slightly

And see a lieutenant struggling.

With some strength I stand up,

And make my way to him.

I help him up and take him away,

The state he's in looks grim.

Pulling out my sword I fight them off,

Cutting through their defense.

I've many scratches and slices

But nothing can stop my sixth sense.

Another bullet pierces me,

This time in my shin.

It fails me and I fall,

Wondering if we'll ever win.

Men fall to my right and left,

Screaming fills my ears.

With all the will I possess,

I hold back my tears.

With sudden strength I kneel,

The pain hindering me not.

I stand again

And with my gun I fought.

I load and fire quickly,

Killing a young man.

Loading again I aim to fire,

But the gun falls from my hand.

A bullet had found its home

In my upper arm.

Blood spewed from the wound,

But to my muscle did no harm.

Before I can react,

Or see my opponent.

Stabbed am I in the stomach,

By a bayonet.

My eyes shoot open,

I open my mouth to speak.

No words escape me,

And to the ground I fall weak.

I can taste the blood

Seeping from my lips.

Turning my eyes to the right,

I see my captain with expression dip.

Off his horse he jumps

And to my side he slides.

Holding my body up

I look into his eyes.

The only thing I think of

Is not despair,

But the young woman I love

Dancing in air.

She holds out her hand to me,

Her smile like gold.

I reach out my hand to her,

One last time to hold.

I never feel her skin,

My head falls back.

Closed my eyes see nothing,

Except a world of black.

1778

Notes: I wrote this while listening to Peter Tchaikovsky's _Andante Cantabile_ and thought of the Battle at Cowpens scene. Let me know what you thought of it.


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